Second July Period Primer

After two days of recharging, teams, players and coaching staffs are back on the grassroots circuit for the second live period of the July evaluation schedule.

Iowa State was active during the first five-day period and figures to be again when the second window opens at 4 p.m. Central on Wednesday.

The Cyclones coaching staff are expected to be in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Chicago, Michigan and Springfield, Mass., according to sources.

ISU figures to have a heavy presence at the Nike Global Challenge in D.C., where Rashad Vaughn, Reid Travis, Cheick Diallo and Abdul-Malik Abu are playing.

Vaughn and Travis will be on the USA Midwest roster while Abu and Diallo are on the Pan-Africa team. Bonzie Colson, who has intrigued ISU as a Georges Niang-type player, will be on the USA East team.

Travis recently visited Gonzaga, but has been very coy with revealing much on his thinking during the recruiting process, though the feeling around the ISU program is the Cyclones remain in play for the talented forward, which is a position of need for ISU with Melvin Ejim set to graduate next spring.

Abuís recent play has made him a hot commodity for a number of big-time schools, making things much more difficult for ISU, which was the first high-major program to offer him a scholarship.

In Springfield, forward Jaylen Johnson and Dorianís Pride will be playing in the Hall of Fame National Invitational.

Johnson has quickly become one of the players ISU covets the most in the 2014 class, though heís racking up offers as of late. He recently visited the ISU campus as well.

In Minneapolis, ISU will have a chance to study a number of targets that play for D1 Minnesota, which hosts its own tournament this weekend.

J.P. Macura has emerged as a priority for the Cyclones, who saw him and his D1 teammates in Indianapolis last week. Macura is piling up high-major offers this summer, but ISU, with its system that features high-level shooters like Macura, seems to be in a good spot with the 2014 recruit.

Also playing will be Henry Ellenson, a 2015 recruit that ISU seems to have major interest in. Amir Coffey, a 2016 recruit, also plays for D1.

ISU also plans to check in on Mac Irvin Fire and 2014 target Josh Cunningham at the Chicago Summer Jam while also attending a number of events in Michigan.